Volume I Dark Blade Sharingan
by Seitaph
Summary: Part 1 of 3. Darkness is rising, and the world holds its breath. Two parts seek completeness, as the Nine Tails stirs. Ninja face their greatest challenge yet, in a race against time. Who will return, the Shield that should or the Tyrant that shouldn't?
1. Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

This volume will last until the emergence of the Dark Blade Sharingan. Who gets it? I'm not telling. However, it will last about 20 chapters, and will end at the start of the time-skip, which will happen about a year later in this fic. Unlike Ocean Spirit, I have planned this one. Ocean Spirit's getting a revamp right now, I'm adding and changing some things, and removing others, but this one will come first, seeing as its less work to make this fit in with the Naruto cannon, while still being AU. I don't like fics that just completely disregard given cannon facts (IE. People being a certain way because they were wearing a mask when in cannon they were sincere). We all know Naruto wears a mask. None of the other characters, except Sasuke, Itachi and Kakashi (Literally) do. Besides, Ocean Spirit really wasn't up the kind of standard I like to see in writing, and I worded a lot of things badly. Anyway, on we go.

Only definite pairing is NaruHina. That will happen, but not properly until the next volume. In this one it will be little more then fluff, maybe a kiss near the end (Unlikely, though).

Volume One: The Dark Blade Sharingan

Chapter One

Truth of the Kyuubi Assault…

Uzumaki Naruto let out a sigh, as he walked out of Konoha's general hospital. Damn Kakashi and his favouritism. It was always Sasuke this, or Sasuke that. Naruto had taken enough of it. He looked up, glancing at the head of the most revered Hokage, the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato.

"I wonder what you would think, if you saw them now." He wondered, his heart dropping. He could swear that there was a man standing on the Yondaime's head. Naruto shook his head, the dark spot on the cliff face disappearing.

'Maybe I just need glasses.' He sighed, looking around. He took two steps forward, before stopping in absolute shock, as the Kyuubi stirred within his body. The great beast moved straight through the seal, his power infecting Naruto's senses. The beast then, to Naruto's surprise, retreated, leaving behind only a few words.

"**That soul… So, the two halves are in the same place."** Kyuubi growled. Naruto was too shocked to ask for clarification. Kyuubi had never done that before. The tired young boy sighed, as he began to walk to the Hokage Mountain.

He needed time to think.

-

Naruto smiled softly as he watched the sun set. It was times like this that made him feel at peace with himself. He closed his eyes, as the soil behind him let out a crunch at being stepped on. He knew who was behind him.

"Uchiha Itachi, traitor of the leaf, isn't it?" Naruto asked, feeling the creepy presence he had always associated with the Sharingan. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that the eye freaked him out. It reminded him of something, made him feel… not whole.

"And you are Uzumaki Naruto, container of the demon, Kyuubi no Yoko." Itachi replied. Naruto barely replied.

"Yes." It was a simple answer to a simple question. Itachi sighed, taking a place beside Naruto, watching the sunset, neither breaking the silence for a good five minutes. Finally, Naruto racked up enough nerve to talk to the most feared traitor in Konoha's history.

"What do you want?" He asked weakly. Itachi moved a fraction of an inch to regard the boy.

"You are required for Akatsuki's plans." Itachi replied. Naruto snorted out loud, momentarily forgetting that by his side was a criminal that could kill him in half a second.

"Is it me they require?" He asked, "Or is it Kyuubi? If it's the latter, then you're no different to this village." Naruto looked down at the village illuminated by the golden sunset. "They needed me to defeat Kyuubi, but once I did so, they tossed me aside, and called me demon." Itachi closed his eyes, and Naruto heard a rush of Chakra suddenly stop. Itachi looked down at the Jinchuuriki, his coal black eyes filled with sorrow.

"There are many sad stories among Jinchuuriki, it seems." Itachi noted. Naruto looked directly into his eyes, forgetting his fear.

"Do you want me, or Kyuubi?" He asked deliberately. Itachi regarded the question, thinking about his answer.

"Akatsuki… only requires Kyuubi. However, I do not. I require you, Uzumaki Naruto." To say Naruto was shocked would be an understatement.

"You require… me?" Naruto asked. Itachi sighed, taking a seat beside the young Jinchuuriki. Naruto was shocked to see some tears fall down his face.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun, do you know the truth of the Kyuubi's attack?" He asked. Naruto flinched.

"The truth? Isn't the truth that the Kyuubi was sealed, not killed?"

"If only it was, Naruto-kun. To understand the Kyuubi assault, one must understand the Uchiha clans past. When we joined Konoha, our leader at the time, Uchiha Madara, made a deal with Kyuubi. In exchange for the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara had to offer a future Uchiha child to Kyuubi, to raise as his own child. You may not know it, but Kyuubi often takes the form of a middle aged man. Madara agreed, and thus the pact was made. However, this promise was forgotten quickly, and when Kyuubi finally came for his chosen child, Uchiha Shugo, the clan refused. In his initial rage, Kyuubi tore Shugo's soul in two. One half of that soul remained in his body, and became known as Uchiha Itachi, me. The other half fled to the Yondaime Hokage, and hid within him. It would later become his son, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto flinched in shock at Itachi's revelation.

"I'm the Yondaime's son?" He asked, not believing it. Itachi looked at the youth.

"In a sense, but you are also Sasuke's brother, in a sense. Continuing on, four years after the Uchiha's refusal, the Kyuubi attacked the village, demanding both you and me. The Yondaime agreed to the Kyuubi's proposal, of one year living between the two families, but the Uchiha did not. Due to the Uchiha's refusal, Kyuubi really did attack. In the end, the Yondaime did the unthinkable. He sacrificed himself for the village's lives. Thus, you now know the truth, and the reason for my coup."

"You mean to tell me that I am hated because you wouldn't go with Kyuubi?" Naruto growled. Itachi shook his head.

"You misunderstand me, Naruto-kun. I wanted to go. Father, however, wouldn't honour the deal. In fact, I was the first to the Yondaime's body after he had sealed the Kyuubi. The truth of the assault appears to have gone to the Uchiha's graves with them." Itachi replied. "It is part of the reason that I went rogue in the first place." Naruto let out a sigh.

"This changes so much." He muttered. "Everything… everything we were told, about the great Uchiha clan… It was all a lie." He looked at Itachi. "Is anyone in the clan innocent?" Itachi shook his head.

"Sasuke was, but the Cursed Seal has damned him. I am impure, not whole, and Madara… let's not go into how cursed he is. Kakashi is probably the only living Sharingan wielder that is blameless." Naruto looked down, his eyes darkening.

"He favours Sasuke." Naruto muttered. Itachi chuckled.

"I think you underestimate your worth to him. Being a member of Akatsuki means I have access to many spies, quite a few of which are in positions to take from the Hokage's Council meeting transcripts. I can safely tell you that Kakashi likes the Council a little more then you do. They have literally forced him to teach Sasuke." Itachi looked at the downed boy.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to train without a teacher to teach you the basics? Pretty much all I can do is send in Kage Bunshin en masse and hope I win." Naruto replied. Itachi looked over at the sun.

"Two years."

"What?" Naruto looked up to the older ninja.

"I have to capture you within two years. In two years, Uchiha Shugo will return to the world, maybe sooner. Stand up, Naruto, and meet me in training ground 7." Itachi stated as he stood up, vanishing in a swarm of leaves.

-

Naruto let out a explosive breath as he ran into his usual training ground, not prepared for what he saw there. Uchiha Itachi stood in the middle of the field, a inverted version of his Akatsuki cloak in hand. Naruto took one look at the red cloak, the black clouds inscribed at seemingly random places before smiling.

"Cool." He muttered. Itachi tossed him the cloak.

"Put it on, Naruto-kun. It's the standard training cloak we use." Itachi stated, watching Naruto put it on. "Now, listen closely. That cloak gets heavier and heavier as you put more Chakra into it. I'll put in a basic amount to start you off, and I want you to add at least a quarter of it on each day. We don't have very long, barely two years, and you must be at least as strong as I am after that time." Naruto looked over to Itachi in shock at that statement.

"Why?" Naruto asked. Itachi looked directly into Naruto's eyes.

"To merge our souls back together, one of us must kill the other. I want you to be the winner, because of our to soul fragments, yours is still pure. However, we can't merge if one of us throws the battle. Our souls have to fall into sync with each other, which means a full on battle to the death. Naruto, I may have access to our bloodline, but you have access to our potential. You must win, because you contain our original personality, hidden within the depths of your soul. If I were to win, our merged state would be unpredictable at best, and a tyrant at worst. Do you understand why we must make you as strong as possible as quickly as possible?" Naruto was shocked. Itachi knew what he was talking about. It made him think.

"Why now?" Naruto asked. Itachi gave a sad smile.

"You needed to find yourself. Without finding yourself, the merge is not possible. Now that you have found yourself, we must make you stronger then me." Itachi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, channelling Chakra through it. Naruto winced, as Itachi added fifty Kilograms to Naruto's body. Naruto wavered, but kept standing.

"Alright, I want ten laps of the field, two hundred push ups, sit ups, squats, and whatever else I come up with. Go!" Naruto shot off, hoping he wouldn't get anything else attached to his training. He didn't get five feet before Itachi told him to stop.

"Create fifty Kage Bunshin and leave them here." He stated. Naruto sighed, forming the ram seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" There was a puff of smoke, and about seventy Kage Bunshin stood in front of Itachi, who sighed.

"Okay, we need to work on control. Alright, Original Naruto, get moving. The rest of you, come with me." Itachi stated, watching one Naruto run off.

-

Two weeks passed extremely quickly for Naruto, as he trained under the Uchiha traitor. Itachi called for him to stop his push ups, placing a scroll in front of him.

"This is a Summoning Scroll, but it is unique. Do you want to know what this summons, Naruto?" Naruto looked at Itachi's deadly serious gaze, nodding. "This summons the three Okami. You have seen my three Mangekyo Sharingan Jutsu of the three Okami. Know that those three Jutsu were made in the likeness of the threes specialties. The Kyuubi and his human heir are the only people who can ever sign this scroll. I want you to sign it, Naruto." Itachi looked on, watching Naruto's eyes brighten.

"Hai!" Naruto yelled, opening the scroll. He was about to write his name when Itachi grabbed his wrist.

"Sign Uchiha Shugo." Itachi told him. Naruto nodded, signing the contract in his own blood before leaving a handprint behind. Itachi nodded, taking the scroll back and showing Naruto five hand seals.

"Now, the first time you will always get Okami Amaterasu-sama. She is rather informal, but if angered, she is really scary. She specialises in fire techniques. Now, if you focus on Genjutsu when you summon, you will get Okami Tsukyomi-sama. He's a stickler for formalities, so always address him by title. He specialises in Genjutsu and possesses the legendary sword Tsukygiri. Now, finally, if you need a shield when you summon, you will get Okami Susanoo-sama. He specialises in barrier techniques, and can create lightning at will. While he is the strongest on this plane of existence, he is also the most difficult to summon. I've only summoned him once, and that was with help. Now, try the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. At the end of the hand seals, cut your hand and slam it on the ground. Since this is your first time, you will get Okami Amaterasu-sama. Go on, try it." Itachi smiled as Naruto flew through the hand seals, biting his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He yelled, slamming his palm on the ground. Several designs spread across the ground, as black flames burned around Naruto. A silver wolf as tall as Naruto appeared in a puff of smoke, as the flames died.

"_Hello, Uchiha Shugo-kun."_ The wolf muttered in an angelic voice, _"I am Okami Amaterasu."_ Naruto gaped at the wolf, falling on his butt.

"Woah." He muttered in disbelief, watching the wolf intently. The wolf giggled a little, sniffing Naruto's face.

"_You are Kyuubi no Yoko's heir. You may summon us, if you need us, Shugo-kun."_ With that, Okami Amaterasu vanished into the winds.

-

**Well, that's it for the chapter. If you want to see Naruto's cloak, google Itachi's alternate costume in Clash of Ninja, Revolution. It's basically just red where the original was black, and black were the original was red. I can't stand that bloody jumpsuit. His Part II outfit wasn't so bad… but damn.**

**Oh, and Shugo's name means shield or defence roughly in Japanese, interestingly enough… for you, anyway. That's why I chose it.**

**The Okami's – Amaterasu has roughly the strength of Gamabunta (Around Shukaku's level), Tsukyomi **_**could**_** take on any of the Bijuu under five tails and **_**possibly **_**win. Depends on luck. Not even Kyuubi crazy enough to summon Susanoo unless there is no other choice, nor would he be able to stand up to him (Besides, it'd kill him). Susanoo would crush most of the Bijuu in seconds. Summoning him is the problem.**

**The event Itachi's referring to, when he summoned Susanoo, required the Chakra of three Bijuu, all 10 members of Akatsuki, Tobi, and all of Ame. The result? 4 Akatsuki members' dead, the rest suffering from severe Chakra exhaustion, half of Ame dead, Tobi incapable of maintaining his **_**Special**_** eye, two Bijuu on the verge of vanishing from existence, and the last one couldn't stand. (All 10 members of Akatsuki combined is roughly the same amount of Chakra Shukaku has, which is roughly 100 times Naruto's current amount, and Naruto's got about three times Jaraiya's… you get the point) So you see, your probably going to die if you summon Susanoo.**

**Oh, and as for the two years to get stronger then Itachi? Sasuke did it in two and a half, and he probably didn't work very hard. Come on, I don't mind Sasuke, but he's not known for putting insane effort into things, but I've rambled too much.**


	2. Invasion

Just a note, I can't remember the Exam Procters name, so I might have used the wrong one. If I did, please, by all means correct me. I don't have the manga on me right now

Volume One: The Dark bane Sharingan

Chapter Two

The Finals and the Invasion

Naruto let out a sigh as he walked into the Chunin finals arena, silently observing the leader board on the back wall. He shifted his left arm slightly, holding it to his chest rather then putting it through his sleeve.

'So, Dosu got dropped from the tournament.' Naruto thought, shifting his red cloak slightly. 'Interesting.' He stopped his march in front of the arena, looking at the proctor.

'Hold on.' He thought. 'He's not Genma… what happened?' Naruto didn't ponder this further, as the proctor spoke up.

"So you're all here but the Uchiha… ah well. As before, you will fight one on one with each other. Killing is permitted, but we'd prefer you didn't. Anyway, if there is a clear winner, I will stop the fight. With that out of the way, remember, today, you guys are the stars." With that, he looked at the leader board. "Would Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji please make their way to the arena. The rest of you, please wait in the stands." Everyone began moving, as Naruto and Neji entered the arena. Naruto could here the crowd erupt into applause for their prodigal Hyuuga, making him smile a wry little grin.

'I can't wait to see their faces when they see their Hyuuga fail.'

Naruto glared at Neji, watching the boys every move as they took their spots on either side of the proctor. Neji sighed.

"Your fate is to lose to me. Save yourself the disgrace and surrender." Neji called. Naruto shrugged.

"Fate is over rated. Besides, I need to kick your ass for Hinata." Naruto replied. 'And Itachi would kill me if I flunked out now.' Naruto thought, as Neji got into the Jyuuken stance.

"Then you will fall. Byakugan!" The veins around Neji's eyes bulged, as Naruto readied himself, bending his knees and holding his single free arm up.

"Hajime!" The Proctor called, signalling the beginning of the battle. Neji wasted no time, closing the gap in half a second and attacking Naruto. However, Naruto was even quicker, standing behind Neji, barely a foot away, back to back. Neji raised a eyebrow.

'Wait, if he's there, then what did I hit?' he wondered, for maybe a fraction of a second. Naruto let out a small smile.

"Not bad, you showed initiative. But…" The Naruto Neji struck fell to a knee, before blowing up. The crowd gasped, as Neji crashed into a wall, Naruto still standing, completely unharmed.

"That was uninteresting." Naruto muttered, as Neji got to his feet. Naruto grabbed a kunai out of his pouch, sighing softly, as Neji began to run at him. He tossed the kunai, forming a half ram seal.

"Kage Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto called, as one kunai became several dozen. Neji halted his advance, concentrating a moment.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" He roared, turning spinning around and forming a dome of Chakra. The kunai all collided with the Chakra dome, bouncing away harmlessly. Naruto raised a eyebrow.

"This is the power of the Hyuuga clan?" Naruto asked, clearly unimpressed. "If this is it, then Hinata really is the strongest Hyuuga." Neji couldn't stand Naruto's taunts.

"Who do you think you are? I have to bear the Branch families seal of hatred! What kind of curse do you bear? Nothing, that's what!" Neji roared, undoing his headband and revealing the seal on his forehead.

"So, you think that because you have some seal that your life is automatically shit." Naruto growled, pain evident in his voice. "At least your still whole!" Neji raised a eyebrow.

"Whole? Are you even sane?" Neji asked. "Your fate is to lose to me, and you will lose now! Hakkeshou: Rokujyuuyon Shou!" Neji pounced forward, unleashing a series of Tenketsu sealing strikes.

"Two Strikes!" Naruto felt Neji strike him twice in the knees.

"Four Strikes!" Naruto felt his shoulders be struck twice each.

"Eight Strikes!" Naruto didn't even know what was hit at that point.

"Sixteen Strikes!" Naruto felt slightly tired at this point.

"Thirty Two Strikes!" Naruto lost track of which direction he was facing.

"Sixty Four Strikes!" Naruto went flying, crashing into the ground several feet away. He got to his feet wearily, feeling his Chakra vanish. Naruto then smirked.

"Look behind you." Naruto called. Neji flinched, spinning as fast as he could, but not fast enough to avoid Naruto's roundhouse kick to the face. Neji cursed, looking at the two Naruto's.

"How can you use Chakra?" Neji asked. Naruto smirked.

"You wasted your best move on a clone." Naruto replied, his clone vanishing. Neji let out a roar, charging at Naruto, who let out a smirk.

"It's over, Neji." He growled, forming several half hand seals. He ended on the half tiger seal. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" With that, Naruto shot several fist sized fireballs at Neji, who had no time to dodge. He slid to a stop, performing the Hakkeshou Kaiten again. Naruto smiled.

'Everything is going to plan.' He muttered, vanishing in a blur of colour. Neji sighed as he stopped spinning, looking very woozy.

"You've got crap Chakra control, you know." Naruto noted, watching Neji spin into another Hakkeshou: Rokujyuuyon Shou.

"Two Strikes!" Naruto blocked both with a Chakra reinforced palm.

"Four Strikes!" Neji didn't notice that Naruto had replaced himself with another Kage Bunshin.

"Eight Strikes!" Naruto appeared behind Neji, who was beginning to bleed from the stress using the Hakkeshou: Rokujyuuyon Shou twice in a battle. Naruto withdrew a kunai, stomping on Neji's knee, holding a kunai to his neck. Neji was shocked, even more so when the Naruto in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke.

"That's enough!" The Proctor called. "Uzumaki Naruto wins the first match of the Chunin exams!"

Naruto was shocked when, one by one, the crowd started cheering for him. He felt a blush quickly rise to his cheeks, as he shyly fled the arena.

-

Naruto let out a sigh, as he collapsed into a seat in the stands. He was slightly irritated at everyone's blatant favouritism of Uchiha Sasuke, but he was too excited to really get down over it. After all, his training had results! He had barely had to try to defeat the Hyuuga.

"Don't get cocky, Naruto." Naruto jumped at his mentor's voice, glancing quickly behind him at the crow sitting on the rim of his seat.

"Itachi?" He whispered. The crow nodded.

"Neji wasn't too tough, Naruto. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, he was weak. His team mate, Rock Lee, is significantly stronger. Sabaku no Gaara is significantly stronger. Sasuke is significantly stronger. Hell, that lazy ass over there, Nara Shikamaru, is tougher then Neji."

"Then where does that put Hinata?" Naruto asked. The crow cocked its head to the side.

"The girl only lacks confidence. With confidence she would be significantly better." Itachi replied glibly, as Kankurou suddenly surrendered.

"So, why are you here? I doubt it's to say 'Good job, Naruto'." Naruto asked. Itachi sighed.

"Be prepared. My sources suspect that Konoha will be invaded during Sasuke's fight." Itachi hopped onto Naruto's shoulder, leaning in to whisper into Naruto's ear.

"You will probably have to battle Shukaku. If everything else fails, summon Amaterasu. She's dealt with Shukaku before." Itachi whispered before flying away. Naruto let out a sigh, drooping deeper into his chair.

"So much for relaxing till the next round." He muttered, glancing into the stands. His eyes fell on the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata.

'I swear, every time I look at her my stomach turns inside out.' Naruto thought, glancing away. Suddenly, Shikamaru was announced the winner of his battle.

'That was fast.' Naruto thought, looking down at the arena as Sasuke and Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke. The battle began soon after. After a few minutes Sasuke formed a Chidori, stabbing it into Gaara's shoulder. Naruto leaped to his feet, irritation evident in his face.

"There is no way in hell Kakashi would willingly teach that to Sasuke." He growled. He looked up at the sky, as several feathers started to fall.

"Genjutsu Kai!" Naruto roared, unleashing a field of Chakra on the whole stadium, completely preventing the Genjutsu. He leaped over the railing, as Sound and Sand Shinobi attacked.

-

Naruto flicked a kunai into his hand, stabbing a Sound-nin in the neck. He spun, kicking another in the face, dazing him enough for Kiba to leap onto the battlefield, tearing a hole through the enemy ranks with Gatsuuga. Naruto tossed the kunai into the enemy ranks, forming the half ram seal.

"Kage Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto roared, as one kunai became dozens. Suddenly, what was about two hundred ninja turned into less then one hundred, as the ANBU lead the civilians out of the arena. Naruto leaped into the stands, rushing for the Kage box, but his path was blocked by a white haired teen wearing a kimono.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." The teen stated. Naruto looked at him incredulously.

"We're in the middle of a war and your saying hello." Naruto stated, a eyebrow raised. The teen chuckled.

"I am Kammimaro. I will be your opponent." He stated, as bone swords shot out of his arms. Naruto smiled.

"That's a neat trick." He stated, closing his eyes. He opened them again, gazing directly into Kammimaro's eyes. "Here's mine. Magen: Kurasugun no Kyouen!" To Kammimaro, Naruto vanished into a flock of crows, which then turned to attack him. However, he just smirked.

"Genjutsu Kai." He muttered. However, he began to panic when the crows didn't vanish. They attacked him, pecking at his flesh. Kammimaro gathered all of his Chakra, unleashing it all at once.

"Genjutsu KAI!" He roared. The illusion faded, but Naruto was gone. In his place, stood the green beast of Konoha, Maito Gai.

"I will be your opponent." Gai roared. "Konoha Daisenpuu!"

-

Naruto ran through the streets of Konoha, eyeing the massive incarnation of sand that was slowly forming in the forest. He cursed, as it took the shape of a giant racoon.

"**I'm FREEEEEEEE!"** Shukaku roared sadistically. Naruto unconsciously flinched at the sight of the demon. Hell, the three Genin behind him were about to faint in fear. Naruto formed five half seals, biting his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Okami Amaterasu!" He roared, watching the silver wolf goddess appear from black flame. Amaterasu took one look at the situation before letting out a soft giggle.

"_Need a hand, Shugo-kun?"_ She asked. Naruto nodded.

"Hai, Okami Amaterasu-sama." Naruto replied.

"_Get on my back, Shugo-kun."_ Amaterasu stated. Naruto leaped onto the wolf goddess's back, as she raced through the village, charging straight at the massive racoon. Soon, they were leaping through the trees, black fire warping around the pair.

"_Amaterasu Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"_ Amaterasu called, shooting multiple black fireballs at Shukaku. Shukaku let out a howl of pain, as his left arm fell to pieces, slowly reforming itself.

"_Hold on, Shugo-kun!"_ Amaterasu called. _"Listen, you have to wake up the Jinchuuriki. Shukaku has no power when his host is awake. I'll hold of the lunatic… Look out!"_

"**Fuuton: Renkudan!" **Shukaku roared, shooting a massive air ball at the pair. Amaterasu leaped over it, jumping at Shukaku's face.

"Good luck, Okami Amaterasu-sama." Naruto stated, leaping into the air. Amaterasu let out a howl, as she launched several blasts of black fire at Shukaku. Naruto landed on Shukaku's head, leaping at Gaara, only to be swatted aside by a hand of sand.

'Shit. Shukaku can still protect him.' Naruto thought, forming several half hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!" He roared, spewing forth fire. Shukaku shielded Gaara with his sand, but failed to notice Naruto vanish in a blur of colour. Naruto reappeared behind Gaara, punching the red head in the face, sending him sailing from Shukaku's head. Shukaku let out a scream as he collapsed.

"**NOOOOOO! I only just got FREEEEEEEEEEE!"** He roared. Naruto leaped down after Gaara, grabbing a kunai from his pouch. The pair sailed into the forest, Gaara crashing into the ground in a clearing. Naruto landed with a light tap behind him, the ground exploding as Chakra shot from his right leg. Naruto let out a groan, as pain shot through his body.

"Shit. I used too much Chakra." He groaned, limping over to Gaara's body. He glanced down at the leg he had landed on, watching it bleed at several points where the Tenketsu were located.

"Stay back…" Gaara groaned, trying to raise his sand, but the boy was utterly spent. He couldn't move. Naruto looked at him.

"It was hell, wasn't it. The loneliness, the despair." Naruto muttered, kneeling in front of the red head.

"GET AWAY!" Gaara roared, fear in his eyes. Naruto glanced up, watching the boy's siblings appear. Both looked worse for wear.

"Listen to me, Gaara. Killing others doesn't prove your existence. Find someone to protect. Only then will your existence be proved." Naruto muttered, patting the boy on the shoulder. "Take your brother to safety." Naruto told the siblings, as he turned to leave. He didn't get twenty feet before his leg gave out.

"Shit." He muttered, as a crow landed in front of him. Naruto sighed, lying down.

'I'm not going anywhere soon.' He thought, silently drifting off to sleep.

'I wonder what Sakura and Hinata are doing…' Naruto didn't even know where that thought came from.

-

**Sorry Naruto's round with Shukaku was so short, but the way I see it, that was a complete and utter skill mismatch, when you consider that Shukaku's abilities are largely dependent on Gaara. Also, from what I've seen, Shukaku isn't very smart, so I see him as believing that it would take next to nothing to obliterate an opponent, thus, he would neglect his own defence. If he actually had half a brain, he wouldn't have let Amaterasu even get close. There is a reason that Naruto wasn't involved in the Sasuke chase that will be shown next chapter. Also, I feel that I should clarify how Henge works in my story.**

**Henge – An E-rank Genjutsu that creates an illusion over the user. The user doesn't actually change. (Sakura uses it to turn into a kid, but the enemy ninja punches where her head was. She still gets hit.)**

**Daihenge – An S-rank Kinjutsu that actually changes the user completely. (Naruto uses it to turn into a kid. An enemy ninja punches where his head was, but misses, because Naruto physically IS a kid. Massive Chakra cost)**

**Thus, the reason Oiroke no Jutsu is a Kinjutsu (because, let's face it, ordinarily it's a sad excuse for a Kinjutsu). It uses Daihenge, not the normal one. Naruto, being the neglected person he is, has no idea that there is actually a difference (and since no one except the Hokage knows of Daihenge's existence and has seen Oiroke no Jutsu, everyone thinks he's just making an illusion. Thus, why no one except the Hokage understands why it should be a Kinjutsu. Jaraiya doesn't count, because in this story he hasn't seen it yet.) **

**The Genjutsu used on Kammimaro – can't remember the translation. Crow murder, or something similar. Sounded like something Itachi would teach. Hehehe… I know, bad form, but I really don't remember and I'm too lazy to find out.**

**Neji's thrashing – This just comes down to the Kage Bunshin trick, nothing more. Naruto's suddenly got years of practice on Neji, but no real experience on how to properly apply it. (Exploding Clone to defend Rokujyuuyon sho, anyone?)**

**Final note, the ease of summoning Amaterasu. Yes, that was probably too easy, but Amaterasu is the weakest summon in the contract (granted, Tsukyomi, while more powerful, has less variety of use while Susanoo is almost impossible to summon and still live). Considering she's not actually more powerful then Shukaku (Just under his level), but significantly smarter (fire turns sand to glass, wind feeds fire), I just feel she shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with him. Now, if that was… say… Nibi… or Sanbi… or any of the others, her game would have been a lot more defensive, especially against the Sanbi, who specialises in water, or Kyuubi, who would simply laugh at her efforts to hurt him.**


End file.
